Aim High...Now!

Over the week-end my daughter mentioned that she saw a seven year old being interviewed on the Today's Show who had done a sprint triathlon.  I was surprised, as I can barely pull one of those off myself, but some kids do have "it", so I suppose it's possible.  Rosie, who is also seven, said that she thought she could definitely do that and wanted me to buy her some gear so she could give a try.  Specifically, she asked for running shorts (real ones, not Old Navy), good goggles and a turquoise swim cap.  Her bike, which is a hand-me-down from a neighbor, would be fine, she told me.  I'm pretty sure she just wanted some new stuff, and I had to laugh because as an avid runner I'm always wanting new stuff for myself, so I got it.  But, I went on to explain that taking on an athletic challenge like a triathlon was extremely difficult and she might need a little more time before she gave it a shot.  She argued that she rides her bike for "hundreds" of hours all the time, swims in her nana's pool all day and can run all the way to town and back.  Though slightly exaggerated, it was a fair point.  I did tell her, however, that riding her bike around the circle in our neighborhood with her friends, having tea parties at the bottom of the pool with her cousins and running to town with me while stopping for a slice of pizza and then running home is not quite the same as training for a triathlon.  She wasn't backing down and I had to give her credit.  Why not aim high?  Whether or not she actually follows through with a triathlon or anything even similar down the road, she could still have this lofty goal now.  Back when I was 32, if someone had told me that within five years I would have run five marathons I would have laughed in their face and said something to the effect of, "yea, right".  But the truth is, since I was young, maybe not seven, but much younger than I am now, I had always wanted to run a marathon and by holding on to that desire I eventually made it happen.  Granted, at my age, it's easier to put the time and effort in to make something like a marathon a reality.  But, that said, there is no reason why Rosie can't set her sites on something today and make it happen when she's ready.  So, we wrote it down together, I caved on the shorts (yes, I am a sucker), and we'll see what happens.  In the mean time, she has planted the seeds for something great in her mind and I can't wait to watch them grow.  Cheesy, I know, but I'm a mother, so I can go there.

Listen to this:
The Veldt (feat. Chris James) - Deadmau5